Independent Release
Review by Tony Cannella
End of the Dream is a female fronted metal band from the Netherlands that was formed in 2010. They have recently issued their debut 6-song self-titled EP. Let’s have a listen, shall we?
First off, for an EP this is pretty long. Clocking in at 33-minutes, EOTD presents a longer than your average EP, not that I’m complaining. “Colder” opens things and is a pretty cool way to kick things off. The riffs are sharp and the song is dramatic with a solid groove to it. The next track “Follow the Angels” begins with a slower tempo before a choir kicks in and then the heavy guitar riffs. I would describe the band as a cross between Within Temptation and Evanescence. Lead vocalist Micky certainly has a pretty cool and expressive voice.
She is able to convey the same kind of drama and passion in her voice that Amy Lee does without coming off as a clone – but there are similarities. Continuing on, “Through the Dark” is next and has a ‘darker’ more of a mid-tempo vibe. “All I Am” is next and has a hugely symphonic vibe to it with a cool acoustic guitar solo in the middle and Micky really does a great job on this one. Next we have “Shadow’s Embrace”. At almost 8-minutes this is the longest song and most epic. This has mostly a galloping metal vibe to it, led by hard charging guitar riffs and smatterings of orchestration. This is my favorite song, for many reasons, but mostly because the band manages to keep it interesting throughout its entire 8-minute span. Yep, hands down, this is my favorite track. This brings us to the closing number “Away”, which ends things in appropriately dramatic fashion. This is another favorite of mine and that guitar solo is just so freakin’ awesome and Micky’s vocals are huge and just plain tremendous. There you have it. With their debut EP, End of the Dream has laid a solid template for what will come in the future. Hopefully this is only the beginning.
Rating – 80/100
Tracklist
- Colder
- Follow the Angels
- Through the Dark
- All I Am
- Shadow’s Embrace
- Away
Line Up
- Micky Huijsmans – Vocals
- Robin van Ekeren – Guitar
- Armen Shamelian – Guitar/Keyboards
- Tim van den Hooven – Bass
- Pieter Driesen – Drums